The Spaniel Spot

Post by **Sharon** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 9:10 pm

Congratulations Nick! 42 years married here. Highly recommend it.

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 6:04 am

Thanks guys

crackerd · Post by **crackerd** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:02 am

Sharon wrote:Congratulations Nick! 42 years married here. Highly recommend it.

But Sharon, the big question for Our Cass is, Will this be a shotgun wedding, or a Retriev-R dummy launcher wedding as based on my "prenuptial" present to him a couple years back? Meaning is Nick "launching" down the aisle of his own volition, or getting some "help"

in going to the altar?

MG

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:17 am

LOL Michael, no it was my own choice.... Although this morning I feel like I may be sick hahaha. I can't imagine how bad it will be tomorrow morning!

Trekmoor · Post by **Trekmoor** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 4:24 am

gundogguy wrote:
Trekmoor wrote:Thanks, the pups doing fine and is just beginning to regain some of his confidence. He now has a fear of people and of large dogs, I hope time and maybe some treats given to him by strangers will help to get him over this.

Bill T.
Good to hear>we will know you are really doing well when the pictures of this pup start showing up!!! Hint Hint!

An update on the pup. Treats do not work well with this pup outdoors , he will deliberately push the offered treat aside with his nose. To try to overcome his fear of strange dogs I tried using retrieves instead. I got a friend to send his lab bitch for dummies while I was holding the pup 30 yards away. The pup was a bit wary but he is a retrieveaholic so he was very interested.

I moved closer to the lab and more dummies were thrown for her. The pup was now wanting to run in for them so I released him to go for one. The distance was only 30 yards and the grass was not long so the pup, who hadn't had a 1lb. weight dummy before and who was unfamiliar with that dummies scent, didn't have much trouble finding it. His hold on it was far from perfect but I'll worry about that later. He brought it back to me with the lab sitting watching from 15 yards away.

By the time we'd finished he was completely happy with the labs presence. This pups retrieve drive is very high , I'm hoping to use it a lot more to make him happy around strangers and strange dogs.

He is also very "birdy," he chased off across the field in pursuit of crows flying over and had gone a fair distance from me before looking back at me. I tossed a tennis ball a few yards and back he came as fast as he could to get it.
I'll try much the same thing with black labs belonging to friends next and hope it works as well as this did.

His first ever retrieve on a standard 1 lb. dummy.

The "finished product."

Bill T.

Post by **Sharon** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:12 pm

Wow. handsome dog Bill.

gundogguy · Post by **gundogguy** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 2:40 pm

Trekmoor wrote:
gundogguy wrote:
Trekmoor wrote:Thanks, the pups doing fine and is just beginning to regain some of his confidence. He now has a fear of people and of large dogs, I hope time and maybe some treats given to him by strangers will help to get him over this.

Bill T.
Good to hear>we will know you are really doing well when the pictures of this pup start showing up!!! Hint Hint!
An update on the pup. Treats do not work well with this pup outdoors , he will deliberately push the offered treat aside with his nose. To try to overcome his fear of strange dogs I tried using retrieves instead. I got a friend to send his lab bitch for dummies while I was holding the pup 30 yards away. The pup was a bit wary but he is a retrieveaholic so he was very interested.

I moved closer to the lab and more dummies were thrown for her. The pup was now wanting to run in for them so I released him to go for one. The distance was only 30 yards and the grass was not long so the pup, who hadn't had a 1lb. weight dummy before and who was unfamiliar with that dummies scent, didn't have much trouble finding it. His hold on it was far from perfect but I'll worry about that later. He brought it back to me with the lab sitting watching from 15 yards away.

By the time we'd finished he was completely happy with the labs presence. This pups retrieve drive is very high , I'm hoping to use it a lot more to make him happy around strangers and strange dogs.

He is also very "birdy," he chased off across the field in pursuit of crows flying over and had gone a fair distance from me before looking back at me. I tossed a tennis ball a few yards and back he came as fast as he could to get it.
I'll try much the same thing with black labs belonging to friends next and hope it works as well as this did.

His first ever retrieve on a standard 1 lb. dummy.

The "finished product."

Bill T.

handsome is as handsome does! Enjoy the journey that you and this pup share!

chrokeva · Post by **chrokeva** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:45 am

We had a great few weeks in Washington at a 4 day hunt test followed the next weekend by my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial. Learned so much from all the amazing cocker folks and me and my dog got the opportunity to run in the most amazing cover we have ever seen.
Bridget was able to qualify all 4 days on the hunt test in senior which gave her her SH title. The next weekend at the cocker trial in open the wheels came off her cart and she retrieved another dogs shot bird

. She sort of redeemed herself a bit by winning the puppy stake. Day two was much better for her (and many of the other dogs). She ended up taking a 2nd in the open which I obviously was very happy with.
OK so I am hooked! Great time with amazing people, watching fantastic dogs run and enjoying time with my dog...who could ask for more

.

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 8:50 am

chrokeva wrote:We had a great few weeks in Washington at a 4 day hunt test followed the next weekend by my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial. Learned so much from all the amazing cocker folks and me and my dog got the opportunity to run in the most amazing cover we have ever seen.
Bridget was able to qualify all 4 days on the hunt test in senior which gave her her SH title. The next weekend at the cocker trial in open the wheels came off her cart and she retrieved another dogs shot bird . She sort of redeemed herself a bit by winning the puppy stake. Day two was much better for her (and many of the other dogs). She ended up taking a 2nd in the open which I obviously was very happy with.
OK so I am hooked! Great time with amazing people, watching fantastic dogs run and enjoying time with my dog...who could ask for more .

Amazing chroveka!!!!!!!!!! Congrats!

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 1:56 pm

Hard to believe grouse is 4 days away. Jake's still in summer mode - caught him working on his tan today....

resizedsept.jpg

resizedsept2.jpg

gundogguy · Post by **gundogguy** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 3:48 am

chrokeva wrote:We had a great few weeks in Washington at a 4 day hunt test followed the next weekend by my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial. Learned so much from all the amazing cocker folks and me and my dog got the opportunity to run in the most amazing cover we have ever seen.
Bridget was able to qualify all 4 days on the hunt test in senior which gave her her SH title. The next weekend at the cocker trial in open the wheels came off her cart and she retrieved another dogs shot bird . She sort of redeemed herself a bit by winning the puppy stake. Day two was much better for her (and many of the other dogs). She ended up taking a 2nd in the open which I obviously was very happy with.
OK so I am hooked! Great time with amazing people, watching fantastic dogs run and enjoying time with my dog...who could ask for more .

Good for you! now you have a ticket to The National Champs. Hope to see you come to Michigan this fall. The Cocker Champs will be held about an hour from me in Onstead, Michigan

crackerd · Post by **crackerd** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 6:21 am

gundogguy wrote:
chrokeva wrote:We had a great few weeks in Washington at a 4 day hunt test followed the next weekend by my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial. Learned so much from all the amazing cocker folks and me and my dog got the opportunity to run in the most amazing cover we have ever seen.
Bridget was able to qualify all 4 days on the hunt test in senior which gave her her SH title. The next weekend at the cocker trial in open the wheels came off her cart and she retrieved another dogs shot bird . She sort of redeemed herself a bit by winning the puppy stake. Day two was much better for her (and many of the other dogs). She ended up taking a 2nd in the open ...

Good for you! now you have a ticket to The National Champs. Hope to see you come to Michigan this fall. The Cocker Champs will be held about an hour from me in Onstead, Michigan

Not familiar with what puppy stakes entail at a spaniel field trial, but twinning "puppy" with "open" for competing in and succeeding in both at the same trial sounds like a tremendous accomplishment. Well played, chrokeva!

MG

chrokeva · Post by **chrokeva** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 7:44 am

gundogguy wrote:
chrokeva wrote:We had a great few weeks in Washington at a 4 day hunt test followed the next weekend by my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial. Learned so much from all the amazing cocker folks and me and my dog got the opportunity to run in the most amazing cover we have ever seen.
Bridget was able to qualify all 4 days on the hunt test in senior which gave her her SH title. The next weekend at the cocker trial in open the wheels came off her cart and she retrieved another dogs shot bird . She sort of redeemed herself a bit by winning the puppy stake. Day two was much better for her (and many of the other dogs). She ended up taking a 2nd in the open which I obviously was very happy with.
OK so I am hooked! Great time with amazing people, watching fantastic dogs run and enjoying time with my dog...who could ask for more .
Good for you! now you have a ticket to The National Champs. Hope to see you come to Michigan this fall. The Cocker Champs will be held about an hour from me in Onstead, Michigan

That would great but getting a placement was really unexpected, she is still a puppy and Michigan is so far from California. IF I can qualify her next year I will definitely be there

jhorak · Post by **jhorak** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 7:50 am

Congrats! That's an awesome accomplishment!!

FYI, that qualifies her for this year and next year for nationals. Next year it's in MN, so a bit closer for you.

chrokeva · Post by **chrokeva** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:16 am

jhorak wrote:Congrats! That's an awesome accomplishment!!

FYI, that qualifies her for this year and next year for nationals. Next year it's in MN, so a bit closer for you.

Oh wow I had no idea then I will be there next year. There are a bunch of the cocker folks that were at the trial in Washington heading out east hitting trials along the way and ending at the nationals. Would have loved to have joined them but just not prepared for it this year.

This has been a experience I will not forget that is for sure. Bridget did some amazing work for me on Sunday....now if I could just get that consistently we will be in good shape. I also saw a few things that we will need to work on so plenty of training ahead for us going forward.

gundogguy · Post by **gundogguy** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 2:30 pm

crackerd wrote:
gundogguy wrote:
chrokeva wrote:We had a great few weeks in Washington at a 4 day hunt test followed the next weekend by my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial. Learned so much from all the amazing cocker folks and me and my dog got the opportunity to run in the most amazing cover we have ever seen.
Bridget was able to qualify all 4 days on the hunt test in senior which gave her her SH title. The next weekend at the cocker trial in open the wheels came off her cart and she retrieved another dogs shot bird . She sort of redeemed herself a bit by winning the puppy stake. Day two was much better for her (and many of the other dogs). She ended up taking a 2nd in the open ...

Good for you! now you have a ticket to The National Champs. Hope to see you come to Michigan this fall. The Cocker Champs will be held about an hour from me in Onstead, Michigan

Not familiar with what puppy stakes entail at a spaniel field trial, but twinning "puppy" with "open" for competing in and succeeding in both at the same trial sounds like a tremendous accomplishment. Well played, chrokeva!

MG

That's correctomundo MG In the Cocker stakes a solid Puppie with the proper basics can pull off a good run in the Open stakes. Actually if I understood the Chrokeva post Her 1st day her pup broke on an honor, the 2nd day she won the Puppie Stakes(non-championship points) and ran in the Open AA and made her 2nd place finish( 4 championship points). That is the way i read it. Please correct if I'm in error. a very nice weekend all in all

jhorak · Post by **jhorak** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 4:06 pm

chrokeva wrote:
jhorak wrote:Congrats! That's an awesome accomplishment!!

FYI, that qualifies her for this year and next year for nationals. Next year it's in MN, so a bit closer for you.
Oh wow I had no idea then I will be there next year. There are a bunch of the cocker folks that were at the trial in Washington heading out east hitting trials along the way and ending at the nationals. Would have loved to have joined them but just not prepared for it this year.

This has been a experience I will not forget that is for sure. Bridget did some amazing work for me on Sunday....now if I could just get that consistently we will be in good shape. I also saw a few things that we will need to work on so plenty of training ahead for us going forward.

Then I should see you there. I currently have a couple of dogs qualified for this National (and next years) and hope to have a couple more ready by this time next year.

For the record, Gundogguy, a second place finish is awarded 3 championship points. You got me a bit excited there as I thought for just a moment that my pooch's 2nd and 3rd place finishes this past weekend might have put her at 8 points plus a win, but alas, we're only at 7 points and a win

(I verified in the AKC handbook)

Jordan

polmaise · Post by **polmaise** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 4:17 pm

chrokeva wrote: my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial.

The next weekend at the cocker trial in open the wheels came off her cart and she retrieved another dogs shot bird . She sort of redeemed herself a bit by winning the puppy stake. Day two was much better for her (and many of the other dogs). She ended up taking a 2nd in the open which I obviously was very happy with.
OK so I am hooked! Great time with amazing people, watching fantastic dogs run and enjoying time with my dog...who could ask for more .

Sounds like you had a roller-coaster of a time and congratulations. Enlighten me if you will ?..Is there an age limit for 'Puppy stakes' ? and can any dog no-matter the age or no previous grading enter an Open?

chrokeva · Post by **chrokeva** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 5:28 pm

You are right except the puppy stake was on Saturday (between 2nd and 3rd series). On Saturday she broke on an honor in the 1st series and then won the puppy stake.

Puppy stake is for under 24 months and it is one run (as opposed to a series) and pigeons are used.

gundogguy · Post by **gundogguy** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 5:18 am

polmaise wrote:
chrokeva wrote: my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial.

.Is there an age limit for 'Puppy stakes' ? and can any dog no-matter the age or no previous grading enter an Open?

Robert, Dogs that have not attained the age of 24 months are eligible to run in the Puppie stakes. No previous judgement experience is needed to run the Open or Amateur All-age stakes minimum age of 9 months is required for both of the All-age stakes. Usually pigeons are used though there has been a trend to use chukars of late. Pups do not run in brace, they are expected to be steady to wing and shot though they do not have to honor another dog.

This Puppie stake was run on using chukars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAn3V6i5kAg

Jason thanks for proofing my post 2nd place is awarded 3 points toward making Champion!

chrokeva · Post by **chrokeva** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:21 am

gundogguy wrote:
polmaise wrote:
chrokeva wrote: my first entry into a cocker spaniel field trial.

.Is there an age limit for 'Puppy stakes' ? and can any dog no-matter the age or no previous grading enter an Open?
Robert, Dogs that have not attained the age of 24 months are eligible to run in the Puppie stakes. No previous judgement experience is needed to run the Open or Amateur All-age stakes minimum age of 9 months is required for both of the All-age stakes. Usually pigeons are used though there has been a trend to use chukars of late. Pups do not run in brace, they are expected to be steady to wing and shot though they do not have to honor another dog.

This Puppie stake was run on using chukars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAn3V6i5kAg

Jason thanks for proofing my post 2nd place is awarded 3 points toward making Champion!

Another difference that I noticed (please correct me if I am wrong) was the puppy stake was run in cover that was much more well puppy like (less challenging than the open).

This will be the only puppy stake my dog will be qualified to run since she is 19 months old and the next trial we will be at will be a few weeks after her 2nd birthday.

polmaise · Post by **polmaise** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 12:18 pm

chrokeva wrote: Another difference that I noticed (please correct me if I am wrong) was the puppy stake was run in cover that was much more well puppy like (less challenging than the open).

This will be the only puppy stake my dog will be qualified to run since she is 19 months old and the next trial we will be at will be a few weeks after her 2nd birthday.

Yea, but You still achieved 2nd place in an 'Open' with the same dog , So it must have been run in pairs right?..and it must have honoured ,and it must have been in more ''challenging ground'' , and it must have been running against more experienced and older dogs. That in itself is an achievement. How many dogs were running in the Open?
Who won it BTW ? ..and what aged dog ?> How many points does that 'winner have'?. Just curious to how this works . Thanks for your feed back and again , very well done .
Robert.

chrokeva · Post by **chrokeva** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 12:38 pm

polmaise wrote:
chrokeva wrote: Another difference that I noticed (please correct me if I am wrong) was the puppy stake was run in cover that was much more well puppy like (less challenging than the open).

This will be the only puppy stake my dog will be qualified to run since she is 19 months old and the next trial we will be at will be a few weeks after her 2nd birthday.
Yea, but You still achieved 2nd place in an 'Open' with the same dog , So it must have been run in pairs right?..and it must have honoured ,and it must have been in more ''challenging ground'' , and it must have been running against more experienced and older dogs. That in itself is an achievement. How many dogs were running in the Open?
Who won it BTW ? ..and what aged dog ?> How many points does that 'winner have'?. Just curious to how this works . Thanks for your feed back and again , very well done .
Robert.

Thank you

Yes this is true, we did run in pairs on both the 1st and 2nd series and the day she took second place she honored. The 3rd series was run as a single but the cover was more challenging and lots of fun. There were 31 dogs running in the open AA of all different ages and only 5 in the puppy stake. The winner (Mudd owner/handler Casey Butz from Canada) also had a young dog (6 months older than mine) and she did a amazing job.

Trekmoor · Post by **Trekmoor** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 6:14 am

I'm still working on persuading Edge , my 6 months old springer pup, to be less afraid of people and of other dogs. He's a lot better with people now and he is a bit better around other strange dogs.

The main thing helping me to overcome the fears in him that were the result of his being lost for a few days is his fanatical love of retrieving. He will do just about anything to get a retrieve article .....any kind of article ......into his mouth ! If he looks a bit wary of other dogs nearby then all I have to do is show him a tennis ball !

I've had a couple of strangers throw dummies for him and he goes out close to the dummy thrower with no worries at all .....sometimes he even tries to give the dummies to them for another throw. I wish strange dogs could throw dummies too !

I've had a couple of springers in the past but none of them could compare with Edge's drive to retrieve. He will happily crash through most sorts of cover while searching for a dummy although I have not tossed anything into brambles yet. I prefer to let birds and rabbits "pull" pups into jaggy cover.
He was taken to water and swam the first time I tossed a dummy into swimming depth water. Since then he has swam 2/3 of the way over a fairly wide river for a dummy. It was splashy but he got the dummy and retrieved it to hand with no shaking himself dry first.

I have just begun to "train" him to hunt. He turns instantly and it took just one very short training session to achieve that. He hunts very hard IF he thinks there is something there to make it worthwhile so I plant a luncheon meat cube or a tennis ball for him occasionally then hunt him onto it.
All in all I am very pleased with him.

Bill T.

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 7:13 am

Got out with the dog last night for a bit of a hunt. We were just sitting on the edge of a field where a friend has spotted lots of geese and doves flying over. It was hot and the dog was not interested in running around too much. Tried to do a bit of quartering out in the field before we got started but he wasn't having it so we both went and sat in the shade. Pretty uneventful night, no geese in range and one lonely dove was taken down. Easy retrieve for his first one. He sure didn't care for the loose feathers though. When he picked it up he walked a couple feet and promptly spit it out, never seen him do that with a bird before. I told him to fetch it up and of course he did and brought it as fast as he could so he could get rid of it hahaha. I have heard people say they have very loose feathers but I've never actually hunted them. The stories are true hahahaha.

polmaise · Post by **polmaise** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 12:46 pm

CDN_Cocker wrote: He sure didn't care for the loose feathers though. When he picked it up he walked a couple feet and promptly spit it out, never seen him do that with a bird before.

Probably forgot your 'place boards' ?

.lol

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 3:58 pm

polmaise wrote: Probably forgot your 'place boards' ? .lol

Beer makes these posts more tolerable... Sláinte.

polmaise · Post by **polmaise** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 4:08 pm

Roinnt i dont féach cad daoine eile a fheiceáil

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 4:43 pm

LOL thats way too much gaelic for me friend.

polmaise · Post by **polmaise** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 5:28 pm

CDN_Cocker wrote:LOL thats way too much gaelic for me friend.

My other language was getting way too much also, so I reverted

atb.

chrokeva · Post by **chrokeva** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 3:15 pm

Hot here today too....gonna top out at 100 degrees in the next few hours. Just took my pup out to do some water retrieves. Even the water looked hot today!
Had not heard about doves having loose feathers. Maybe we can get her one in the next few weeks with any luck. Lots of those eurasian collared doves around. Any up in your neck of the woods?

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:14 pm

No we only have mourning doves

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 1:18 pm

Had a nice morning out goose hunting. Jake did well for his first time on the big honkers. They were the same size as him.

jakegoose.jpg

geese1.jpg

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 5:04 pm

Nice job Cass.

I was looking through pictures of my hunts through the first couple weeks this year. I was in wonder of the versatility of these spaniels. My little gal has efficiently hunted pheasant (in thick prairie grass), ducks (over water), and grouse & woodcock (in tangles). It all deepens my love of spaniels.

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 5:31 pm

They sure do it all. Jake has hunted and retrieved ducks, geese, grouse, woodcock, pheasant, chukar (not wild, training birds) and rabbit. The only other thing he could do in this area is turkey which I don't hunt. They definitely are versatile. I would be interested though to compare their nose to a pointing breed. He amazes me with his finds but I still always wonder if a pointer would find more

Post by **Sharon** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 5:48 pm

I'm sure a setter would find many more.

( You know I'm kidding. Depends more on the dog than the breed imo)

Post by **mnaj_springer** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 5:54 pm

I really don't think their noses are that different. Just ground coverage. But the biggest difference may be the desire/ability to find downed game. If Mack doesn't find a downed bird within a couple minutes, it's not there. She's found birds that seemed impossible to recover.

Trekmoor · Post by **Trekmoor** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 3:36 am

I have had pointing dogs and spaniels for a number of years. The kind of country they are hunting in makes a spaniel preferable sometimes and a pointing breed preferable at other times.

My spaniels have eyewiped my brits and GSP's on retrieves and I have seen that happen in reverse too .

Bill T.

jhorak · Post by **jhorak** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 6:14 pm

Anyone else on here going to be at the US Cocker Nationals next week? I have two dogs entered.

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Tue Oct 20, 2015 6:19 pm

Good luck Jordan! Im rooting for you! Love your facebook updates. Wish I lived closer so we could train together.

gundogguy · Post by **gundogguy** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 3:45 am

jhorak wrote:Anyone else on here going to be at the US Cocker Nationals next week? I have two dogs entered.

Jordan, I may swing by for a day, grounds are not far from home. Always enjoy seeing who has it going on with FB Cockers.

crackerd · Post by **crackerd** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:39 am

gundogguy wrote:
jhorak wrote:Anyone else on here going to be at the US Cocker Nationals next week? I have two dogs entered.
Jordan, I may swing by for a day, grounds are not far from home. Always enjoy seeing who has it going on with FB Cockers.

gundogguy, much crossover in the ranks with ESS and fbcocker handlers? - Say pros who train/trial both? Amateurs who trial both breeds? Imagine it would be even harder than for a retriever pro with different breeds, as those different breeds compete agin' each other, but the FT spaniel breeds do not. But curious nevertheless whether the trialing spaniel twain meets with pros or "multi-tasking" amateurs.

And, Jason, methinks you've got something beyond "two dogs entered," you've got two dogs qualified for the nationals - congratulations!

MG

gundogguy · Post by **gundogguy** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 12:31 pm

crackerd wrote:
gundogguy wrote:
jhorak wrote: .

gundogguy, much crossover in the ranks with ESS and fbcocker handlers? - Say pros who train/trial both?

Little to none, the logistics of the trial schedule really complicates a concerted and competetive effort to compete with both breeds That is not to say that Pros do not train FB Cockers and FB Springers.
You know as well as i do that there is only so much time available Distances between trial and schedule really makes difficult to be competitive in both breeds. Paul McGagh is one that pro that consistently Q's dogs of both breeds for The Champs.
as for Retriever trainers I believe Roy Gonia was the last to make Champ with a Springer and also a Labrador retriever, back in the 50'-maybe early 60's
Springers need to qualify on an annual basis for the Springer Champs
I believe Cocker are good to go for 2 calendar years as far as Q goes for Cocker Champs.
Our Zeta Girl is Qualified for both the USA Springer National Open ( Harrisburg Oregon begins Nov 19th) and the Canadian Nationals. Zeta dog is in Nova scotia, Canadian Open Nationals begin Sat Oct 24th.
The "War princess" is going to be running up quite a mileage bill here in the next 3 weeks. Just to give an idea of the logistics looks like!

Amateurs who trial both breeds? Imagine it would be even harder than for a retriever pro with different breeds, as those different breeds compete agin' each other, but the FT spaniel breeds do not. But curious nevertheless whether the trialing spaniel twain meets with pros or "multi-tasking" amateurs.
Not sure what is being asked or stated here

And, Jason, methinks you've got something beyond "two dogs entered," you've got two dogs qualified for the nationals - congratulations!

MG

jhorak · Post by **jhorak** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 3:07 pm

There is a bit more than just Paul that run both. Dan Murray has about 8 Cockers and 10 Springers that he trials (and does well with both). Tom Ness I believe runs in some Springer trials, and there is also Jeff Schwartz and Mark Mercie. The winner of the Cocker champs is also a Springer guy (I believe he still competes with them). There is not a lot of crossover, but there is certainly some. Have combine Cocker/Springer trials would probably make it more common very quickly, but I don't think there is any talk of that happening in the states anytime soon.

Crackerd, I do have two dogs qualified, but I guess my goal all along hasn't been to just qualify.

Flint · Post by **Flint** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 3:48 pm

Good luck Jordan. I'm not much of a Facebooker but I do keep up with your successes.

Actually, I have heard some talk about combining Springer & Cocker trials w/ pretty heated opinions on both sides.

Curious what you'd think?

Dave Flint

polmaise · Post by **polmaise** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:24 pm

We have some 'AV' ,All variety trials over here Dave as I'm sure you know . The cover type usually suits the winner ,but that said ..the cream always rises to the top.

CDN_Cocker · Post by **CDN_Cocker** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:34 pm

Flint wrote:Good luck Jordan. I'm not much of a Facebooker but I do keep up with your successes.

Actually, I have heard some talk about combining Springer & Cocker trials w/ pretty heated opinions on both sides.

Curious what you'd think?

Dave Flint

Here in Canada springers and cockers always compete against each other. We do not have separate trials. I think its fantastic. The best working spaniel wins, regardless of its breed.

polmaise · Post by **polmaise** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:50 pm

Do they stop to flush in Canada ? or do they get credited for a catch ?

jhorak · Post by **jhorak** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:54 pm

Flint wrote:Good luck Jordan. I'm not much of a Facebooker but I do keep up with your successes.

Actually, I have heard some talk about combining Springer & Cocker trials w/ pretty heated opinions on both sides.

Curious what you'd think?

Dave Flint

I think that I'd be okay with it, but I don't know if that's my final answer. I think I'd definitely still want Cocker only trials and Springer only trials; but I'd certainly like to have an opportunity to run my Cockers against Springers and feel that we'd hold our own.

There'd be some pros and cons that would have to be weighed out, but if it it were up to the club to decide if it was going to be an inclusive or exclusive trial, what could that hurt?

PROS:
- More accessibility to trials in different parts of the country (not an issue in my area, but parts of the US are totally lacking in Cocker trials)
- Better competition, which would force people to be better handlers and more selective in breeding
- More collaboration between handlers of the different breeds (strength in numbers)
- Ability for an individual to own both breeds and have a really fun weekend

CONS:
- Difficulty in judging objectively with two different breeds running, and even knowing how to judge
- Potential for breeders to veer off from standard breed type and meet "somewhere in the middle", so there'd potentially be a blurring of the lines between the two breeds
- I'm sure the AKC would have logistic issues with making it work.

These are just initial thoughts...I haven't put a lot of thought into it before. What do you think?

jhorak · Post by **jhorak** » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:56 pm

polmaise wrote:Do they stop to flush in Canada ? or do they get credited for a catch ?

Yes they stop to flush, and a "catch" is not a fault. It's the same rules as a US trial.